A Connecticut doctor, born and raised in the U.S., was stunned when she got an email from the Department of Homeland Security telling her to leave the country right away.
“It is time for you to leave the United States,” the message read.
Dr. Lisa Anderson, 58, of Cromwell, Connecticut, says she’s an American citizen, born in Pennsylvania. Now, she’s walking around with her passport in her purse and looking for an immigration lawyer—just in case.
“It does make me concerned there are a lot more people out there like me who probably also thought this was spam, who probably didn’t realize, ‘I have a problem,’” Anderson told NBC Connecticut.
She’s not alone. Nicole Micheroni, an immigration lawyer based in Boston, also got the same email from DHS, giving her just seven days to leave the U.S. She’s also a U.S. citizen.
When asked about the alarming mistake, DHS officials admitted they’ve been sending notices to undocumented individuals. But they added that if someone listed a citizen’s email address—by mistake or otherwise—“notices may have been sent to unintended recipients.”
Anderson is still trying to figure out how her name ended up on the list.
Meanwhile, she’s staying alert and lawyering up.
Watch the full report from NBC News below.
